In article
,
john smith wrote:
- traffic (independent feed; patch from 330? ADSB? over the XM?)

You can already display TIS traffic from the 330 on the 396/496. As
others have suggested, an independent (probably passive) traffic
capability might be nice, but I doubt we'll see it anytime soon.

As for traffic over XM, there are multiple issues that make that idea
impractical, the obvious being the non-real time nature of the XM data
feed.


- single power, XM, GPS antenna cable connector leading to a molded
"strip" connector for individual antennas?)

Bad idea on the "connector strip." Not only does it provide a single
point of failure, it adds complexity for no good reason. The last thing
I want is to be forced into using a "connector strip" instead of
flipping up the stick antenna, or have to haul around a "connector
strip" when I want to run off of battery in my car. Now, I do think
that they need to re-engineer some of the connectors, but the ala carte
system on the unit is about as good as you're going to get, IMO. The
power/data port already provides power, data, and monaural audio from
one port, over one cable.

The reality is that--while not perfect--the 396/496 are pretty darn good
already. Screen size would seem to be the most obvious improvement.


JKG